“On the obligation we have to meritoriously perfect ourselves since we are living images of the Son.”

Prayer: (with eyes closed, sing or pray)

Fill my being.

Fill my being.

Spirit, anoint my being.

Pour out your love,

descend on me,

Spirit, anoint my being.

Silent reflection

In the reflection from St. Vincent Pallotti which is presented this month, we see how important, necessary and urgent it is that we enter the Cenacle of our hearts and ask the Spirit of God to fill our being and our hearts and thus experience that which St. Vincent lived:

“Enlightened by holy Faith I must recall that my soul is created in the image and likeness of God and so is also a living image of the divine Son. As such, by the natural order of creation, with trust in grace, I must profit from my free will in order to become more and more a living image of the same divine Son of the Eternal Father...” (God, the Infinite Love, p. 43).

A person who is attentive to all that takes place in his or her heart; the feelings, aspirations and dreams, will be able to perceive the activity of God in every moment of life. He or she will become ever more sensitive to His call in the small activities of each day and will respond with generosity.

“Since the divine person of the Son is infinitely like the Father, therefore my soul of its very nature needs to perfect itself in being in the image of God and of all of God, to do otherwise would be to go against its very nature and against the demands of the nature of my soul according to the wise designs, or objectives, of the infinite love and the infinite mercy of God who wishes it to be like him in glory.” (God, the Infinite Love, p. 43).

“Aided by grace I am obliged to do everything in my power to imitate God in all things in accordance with his designs, therefore in all my thoughts, affections, words and works I will do all I can to imitate him” (God, the Infinite Love, p. 43).

When we make God’s truth our own we become mystics. The heart of the mystic is turned to heaven while the feet are on the ground. The mystic recognizes and lives the reality of the creator Spirit interiorly, concretizing it each day. The mystic recognizes his or her nothingness and poverty in a very fragile heart, but believes in the power-filled strength of God which emanates from his or her depths.

“My God, you have created me like this as faith affirms and which I believe, you grafted into my soul this precious natural obligation; and you placed it there even though you knew just how ungrateful I would be and how I would work against you in offending you and ruining my soul; so, why do you tolerate me on this earth? But for your greater glory make your infinite love and this, your infinite mercy, known in all the universe; and in your infinite mercy help me so that I can always pray like this…”( God, the Infinite Love, p. 43-4)

The person is an image of God right from the moment of conception. This dignity is present in every phase of human life. It is God himself who gives this special gift to the person, and he expects the person to recognize it and to give thanks for it, to make it manifest in his or her life and allow it to grow and produce fruit, to bear courageous witness to being an image of God in the activities of daily life. To say that God has created us in his image means that he also has a plan or project for each of us. Since the perfect image of God is Jesus Christ himself (2 Cor 4,4; Col 1,15; Heb 1,3), the person must be modeled on him (Rm 8,29). In effect, in order “to become” increasingly an image of God it is necessary that the person actively collaborate in his or her transformation in accordance with the model of image of the Son (Col 3,10).

Sin does not destroy, does not annul the image of God in the person because it is part of the essence of the person. Sin disfigures this divine image, it wounds it, obscures it, and once the person is wounded by sin he or she is in need of salvation. God who is infinitely good, offers this salvation through his Only Son, Jesus Christ, who liberates and heals the wounds of each person through his death and resurrection.

Time of silence for reflection

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” Jn 8, 32

Taking this affirmation as a starting point, in a period of silence, let us look into our hearts. Let us stay with Jesus and allow him to really see the truth within us until we can make it our own and commit ourselves with all our being to be at the service of the Kingdom of God.

1- What feelings are in my heart at this time?

2- Which objective has priority now?

3- What importance do I give to God and to the mission entrusted to me?

With the entire Pallottine Family let us pray with the words of St. Vincent Pallotti:

Leader: My God, my Father, infinite love, infinite mercy of my soul, ineffable love, incomprehensible love!

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: Only you understand my ingratitude and the number of sins I have committed which have all been a consequence of my ingratitude to your infinite love and to the infinite mercy with which you created me in your image and likeness.

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: Because I have not profited from your love, and especially because I have acted in ways that were not in conformity with the nature of my soul as a living image of the eternal Word, your divine Son, who is infinitely like You.

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: My God, if I had profited from your grace, I would never have sinned, I would have multiplied holy works for your greater glory and for the sanctification of my soul and that of my neighbour, however I am guilty of so many sins, I am without merit, and my soul is poisoned, wounded and chained by innumerable faults.

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: My God, who will give me tears to cry for such black and monstrous ingratitude to your infinite love and mercy?

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: My God, my love, infinite love of my poor, deformed, wounded and poisoned soul.

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: Being in such an abyss of wretchedness, o my God, you who are the essence of mercy, do you want me not to hope in you?

All: Holy Spirit fill and anoint my being.

Leader: Rather, because of your infinite mercy, and by the infinite merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the merits of Mary Most Holy and of all the Angels and Saints I firmly trust and I believe that you will immediately give me perfect contrition for all my sins and for my monstrous ingratitude.

All: You will give me immediately the grace to start afresh and to continue until death living a life that is totally occupied with attending to the greater perfection of my soul, with fervour and with increased diligence! With your grace I will be able to remember always your infinite love and your infinite mercy with which you created me like unto you, in order to profit from them just as you desire, and so become like unto you in glory for all of eternity.

Pray the Our Father for Christian Unity.

We conclude praying the blessing of the Lord Jesus on us:

May the Lord bless us and free us from all evil and lead us to eternal life.

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